A BAKER: Lionel Poilane

1. I shot this with two cameras. One was mounted on a tripod and framed to shoot the wider shot which is what you see in the thumbnail — M. POILANE and Dorie Greenspan, (DorieGreenspan.com)Â The second camera was hand held — you can see me with it early in the piece.

2. The Debrief. I don’t know why it took me seven or eight years to think of it but I asked Dorie to sit down one day and tell me about Lionel Poilane: who was he, why was he important — just talk about what we were seeing . Dorie in effect became a vibrant narrator. She was not only a character in the piece – she provided a spine. Debriefs are used in almost every reality series – SURVIVOR, The REAL WORLD, even those ridiculous THE REAL HOUSEWIVES … They have more character and flavor than straightforward narration while filling in the gaps and moving the story along.

3. Showing the original footage to Poilane’s daughter Apollonia. I didn’t know if she’d cry or what but her reactions provided a springboard and connection. It would have been ridiculous to make this story and NOT show her reaction to her father’s technique.